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Grants put kids in guernseys By Charlene Macaulay Does your festival or sporting club need a little helping hand? Applications are now open for Brimbank council’s 2014-15 community grants program. This year, the council is offering up grants totalling $330,000 across four categories: festivals and events; sports, recreation and youth; help with establishing new groups;
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Without subsidised fees, at least 15 kids wouldn’t have participated - Michael Grima
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and community strengthening grants. Successful applicants can get up to $10,000 in additional funding. The Sunshine Heights Football Club was one of 70 organisations to
receive a grant from last year’s funding. The club used its $5000 grant to kick-start its Footy Fun for Everyone initiative, which offered subsidised fees for players. The club has also employed a multicultural aid officer who drove the youngest players to and from training and games, and worked with migrant parents to familiarise them with the club and bridge the cultural gap. “It made a huge difference,” the former Sunshine Heights
junior co-ordinator Michael Grima said. “We identified very quickly that money was a major barrier to entry for kids in our area. “Last year, when we got the grant, we had two full junior teams – an under-9s and under-11s – and I would suggest that without the subsidised fees, at least 15 of those 45 kids wouldn’t have participated.” For more information, go to brimbank.vic. gov.au/grants or call 9249 4036.
Monmia Primary School pupil Ethan Curwood got the chance to run the school last week when he became principal for a day. The grade 6 pupil sat in on a leadership meeting, read to a prep class, met with the assistant principal, wrote a message for the school newsletter, performed yard duty and had to resolve a hypothetical problem during his day in the top job. The 11-year-old was one of four school captains to put his hand up for the role, and was lucky to have his name drawn out of a hat. “I wanted to see how it feels to step into the principal’s shoes,” he said. “Everyone’s calling me Mr Curwood. ” Ethan, whose hobbies include football and cricket, hopes to become a physical education teacher. Monmia Primary School in Keilor Downs was one of 35 Victorian schools to take part in the national Student Principal For A Day event. Charlene Macaulay
(Wayne Hawkins)
Ethan lays down the law, nicely
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19 BRIMBANK & NORTH WEST STAR WEEKLY \ JUNE 10, 2014